AA SW Regional notes

John Demaske of Jefferson-Morgan had the biggest upset on the first day of the PIAA Class AA Southwest Tournament, when he pinned top-seeded Garrett Thomas of Bedford in the quarterfinals. Demaske's pin came at 1:59 and there was some discussion among the referees whether it came before the buzzer to end the second period. Demaske is one win away from assuring a spot in Hershey for the state tournament.

Avella's Jake Temple and West Greene's cody Jacobs each made it to the semifinals of the 220-pound weight class. The two won by nearly identical scores. Temple took a 6-2 decision from Seth McClendon of Penn Cambria and Jacobs won 6-3 over District 6 champion Jacob Ludiwg of Moshannon Valley.

One of the more interesting bouts in today's semis will be at 145, where Tanner Sutton of Chartiers-Houston runs into top-seeded Noah Tarr of Blairsville. Sutton hit Tarr this early because he fell to Burrell's Phil Marra in the District 7 finals. This will be a good test.

Beth-Center's Anthony Welsh is at it again. The freshman from Beth-Center advanced to the semifinals with a pin of Nick Kusich of Avella in 5:05 in the quarters at 138. Welsh was a surprise finalist in last week's WPIAL Championships. To get to the region finals, he must beat top-seeded Sean Heggs of Juniata.